NEW YORKMEXICO CITY

December 09, 2007

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA.NASA to try for launch under stiffer rules With erratic fuel gauges still a possible threat, NASA aimed for a launch of space shuttle Atlantis at 3:21 p.m. today after senior managers signed off on a plan to tighten flight rules and shoot for a slim one-minute window. Managers believe the extra precautions will keep Atlantis and its seven-man crew as safe as possible if, indeed, the shuttle lifts off. On Saturday, two engineering departments at NASA recommended delaying the launch and doing additional testing to figure out why so many fuel gauges acted up during Thursday's launch attempt. But in the end, they did not oppose trying for a liftoff, NASA said. Under the new rules, NASA will proceed with the countdown only if all four of the gauges in Atlantis' big hydrogen tank are working properly. Two of them failed when the shuttle's tank was filled for liftoff on Thursday and a third one subsequently acted up. Under NASA's usual rules, a launch can go ahead if three of the gauges work. The fuel gauge problem has plagued the shuttle program off and on for more than two years. POMPANO BEACH, FLA.Planes collide over Everglades; no survivors Two small planes collided over the Everglades Saturday, crashing into the swamp, and authorities said there were no survivors. A Piper aircraft and another unknown aircraft crashed at about 3 p.m., Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. Authorities believe there was only one person on board the Piper, but they had no information yet on the second plane, Bergen said. There were no survivors, officials said, although no bodies had yet been recovered. SAN FRANCISCOEpiscopalian diocese secedes from church The conservative Diocese of San Joaquin voted Saturday to split from the liberal-leaning Episcopal Church, becoming the first full diocese to secede from the denomination in the debate over the Bible and homosexuality. Clergy and lay members of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin voted 173-22 at their annual convention to remove all references to the national church from the diocese's constitution, said the Rev. Van McCalister, a diocesan spokesman. Anglicans have been moving toward a worldwide schism since 2003, when the Episcopal Church consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. San Joaquin is also one of the three Episcopal dioceses that will not ordain women.